“I want to come with a bunch of people every time, so we can get a boat all the time,” physics senior Jacquelyn Kalisz, right, said about visiting the reopening of Sushi Ya, 529 E. Grand River Ave. The group ordered more than six kinds of rolls and said they were surprised they got their order in a boat. Customers clockwise from bottom are hospitality business senior Brandon McKenney, kinesiology senior Gem Sabolboro, business and pre-law senior Dianna Ray and Kalisz.
An open kitchen and large seating area will greet customers of Sushi Ya, which opened Friday in a new location at 529 E. Grand River Ave., and becomes the third sushi bar to open along a one-block stretch of Grand River Avenue.
The sushi restaurant serves the same kitchen food, seafood and sushi, but an expanded kitchen should contribute to kitchen food sales, said Nathan Carney, a store manager.
“This is a better building and different layout,” Carney said.
“The open kitchen is a neat feature and you can see the employees working and everything.”
Sushi Ya was previously located at 124 W. Grand River Ave., but a building sale forced the business to seek a new location, owner Chang Ko said.
The new building, which students might recognize as the old Burger Down, has 15 tables and holds 66 occupants.
Owners said Sushi Ya has plans to build a patio outside the building and could use as many as 20 employees.
“We’re going to be OK – we have a lot of regulars coming back,” Ko said.
“It’s a better area and a better setup.”
Building construction went well and no delays were experienced during the move-in process, Carney said.
Although the sushi restaurant’s new location will provide students more sushi options, local sushi store owners questioned the decision to move into an area that already contains two other sushi businesses.
Jimmy Ko, general manager of Sushi & Deli, 547 E. Grand River Ave., said Sushi Ya’s arrival will likely drive one or more of the places out of business.
“When there’s competing businesses right next door, they usually split the market in the opening period, but then one will be dominant,” Jimmy Ko said. “Three is just too many.”
Sushi & Deli opened its doors June 10 when Jimmy Ko decided to break away from what was then Sushi Q, 553 E. Grand River Ave., but the businesses open at different times to allow each to pick up customers.
“I like to try to coordinate hours instead of killing people off,” Jimmy Ko said. “Legally there’s nothing wrong with that … but in business, morality is very important. We put our whole families and our whole lives into this.”
Jimmy Ko said Sushi Ya’s arrival should initially draw more customers into the area, but he’s interested to see what will happen afterward.
“It’s a lose-lose situation,” he said. “Either we’ll share the market, or one of us will have to die, which is very sad.”
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